HSCC keeps state basketball finals
LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Activities Association’s board of directors voted Tuesday to continue to host the state basketball finals at Hot Springs Convention Center during the first day of its annual Summer Workshop meeting at the Four Points by Sheraton Little Rock Midtown hotel.
The convention center has hosted the state basketball finals for 13 of the past 14 years and will host the event under the current contract in 2021. No other cities put in a bid for the state basketball finals.
The AAA and HSCC will begin a new contract for 2022-2026. The last time a city outside Hot Springs hosted the state finals was when the event was held at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock in 2013 due to the Sun Belt Conference basketball tournament being held at Bank OZK Arena (then-Summit Arena) at the same time.
The AAA’s board also voted Tuesday to waive the summer athletic dead period.
The vote was 13-6 for the resolution, which will give school districts the authority to observe or waive the period for their athletes.
The summer dead period is scheduled for June 21-July 5. During a traditional dead period, all AAA sports are not permitted to take part in games, practices or events.
Athletes in all sports have not been able to participate or work out with their teams since March 15 when the AAA halted all activities because of the coronavirus pandemic, but they were able to participate in virtual workouts and meetings.
On June 1, schools were allowed to return to athletic activity, but contact sports such as football and basketball cannot practice.
Lance Taylor, the AAA’s executive director, said he and his staff received feedback throughout the spring from coaches who wanted to do away with the summer dead period.
“We want to open it up for schools that want to still work out,” Taylor said. “This time, it should be a school decision.”
Little Rock Catholic principal Steve Straessle, a member of the AAA board of directors, agrees the decision should be left to the schools.
“These are unique times,” Straessle said. “I do believe that a healthy, physical activity for kids is important in a time of a pandemic.”
Straessle said he’s not sure whether Little Rock Catholic will use the newly freed up period. The boys-only private school competes in the 7A-Central Conference for football and 6A-Central Conference in other sports.
Some administrators resisted the idea. Morrilton superintendent Shawn Halbrook said he will allow his athletic department to take the two weeks off.
“I understand we’ve been off [in the spring],” Halbrook said. “But Morrilton is going to honor the dead period.”
Fayetteville superintendent John Colbert agreed with Halbrook and plans to have the Bulldogs away from their athletic programs for the two-week period.
“We’re not going to do it,” Colbert said of waiving the dead period. “That will cause some discussion in our community, I’m sure.”
The dead period is designed for coaches and athletes to take time off from training for the upcoming school year. Taylor stressed that he doesn’t want schools to penalize coaches and athletes for still using the period for vacations or other non-athletic activities.
In other business Tuesday:
• Schools that were scheduled to host the baseball, softball, soccer and track and field state tournaments in May will be able to bid for the events for the 2020-21 season at a later date, the AAA board of directors voted. The AAA announced the original 2019-20 spring sports and
2020-21 fall sports championship bids in January.
• Mena superintendent Benny Weston will become the president of the AAA’s board of directors for 2020-21. Magnolia superintendent John “Skipper” Ward and Straessle will be the first and second vice presidents, respectively. Weston takes over for Gary Hines, who is retiring from his post as superintendent at Emerson-Taylor-Bradley School District in southwest Arkansas.
In the second and final day of the workshop today, the board of directors will hear proposals on realignment for the Class 2A conferences in football for the 2022-24 cycle and a shot clock in basketball at all levels in the state. Class 6A will have a shot clock for boys and girls basketball games in the 2020-21 season.
Proposals are from the spring survey sent to school administrators during the spring. They will receive either a “do pass” or “do not pass” recommendation at today’s meeting and will be voted on by AAA schools at the annual governing body meeting Aug. 5.